Wednesday, July 16, 2014

How long does it take to lower cholesterol? That is a question
that seems to plague almost anyone who suffers from high cholesterol. If
you're suffering from high cholesterol, lowering your cholesterol level
can never be fast enough; whether you're seeking a natural way to lower
cholesterol or via some other alternative treatment. According to an
article by CNN in November 2006, "more than 70 million Americans live
everyday with some form of heart disease." And the number is expected to
rise steadily over the next 10 years.

Heart disease is America's
number one killer and probably, the number one killer in the
industrialized world. The myth being perpetuated that cholesterol is
never high before the age 40 is exactly that - a myth. Don't believe a
word of it.

The facts necessitate a quick guide to lowering your
cholesterol quickly - preferably opting for a natural and alternative
treatment for high cholesterol.

But first ... for some good news.
Cholesterol ... contrary to popular belief ... is not the cause of heart
disease. The inflammation of arteries does that. Heart attacks occur in
people with normal cholesterol levels. That's right. There's a lot of
misinformation being passed around that cholesterol is bad - that
cholesterol is the cause of heart disease. That's so far from the truth.
In fact, your body needs cholesterol to stay healthy. Your body uses
cholesterol to produce hormones, vitamin D and bile acids to digest fat.
And the truth of the matter is - your body requires only a small amount
of cholesterol in the blood to meet these needs.

So why should
you worry about lowering your cholesterol levels and maintaining it
preferably at less than 200mg./dl.? Because failure in doing so can lead
to the inflammation of your arteries ... and that is when
cardiovascular events like heart attacks will occur. It's only when you
have too much cholesterol in your bloodstream (referred to as hypercholesterolemia)
that problems start to arise. And this is where you need to pay
attention. Because a high cholesterol level ... let's say ... north of
250, can and will lead to problems such as atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis clogs arteries including your coronary arteries (arteries that feed the heart) and if left unchecked overtime, will lead to heart disease like angina and heart attack.

This
is why you need to lower your cholesterol level and why it's so
important to keep those levels in check. Statins such as Zocor and
Lipitor may be powerful, cholesterol-lowering drugs and helps to some
extent, but ... whether you believe it or not ... these can cause more
damage (liver toxicity is a common side effect) than good to
your body in the long run. You don't need these ill-effects creeping
into your life just as you're about to kick back and enjoy your
retirement.

Don't get me wrong ... I'm all for taking
prescriptions drugs under doctor's orders if no other alternatives are
made available. I'm sure you'll agree with that.

But I'm about to show you 5 tips you can go about lowering your unhealthy cholesterol levels without drugs right now - and fast!

Here's how to lower your cholesterol the natural way:

Consume more "healthy" fats

You
must have heard of monounsaturated fats. Usually found in some types of
nuts like almonds and walnuts, olive oils, canola oils and avocados.
These "healthy" fats lower "bad" cholesterol (LDLs - Low-Density Lipoproteins) but at the same time, help maintain the "good" cholesterol (HDLs - High-Density Lipoproteins).

Your
doctor can vouch for the fact that consuming monounsaturated fat
instead of saturated fat can lower your cholesterol levels quite
drastically. You would have probably come across health advice about
lowering cholesterol such as, "Replace whole milk with skim milk," "Cut
down on that refined sugar," or "Dump butter for margarine." Most of
that information is true except for dumping butter for margarine.
Margarine increases the bad cholesterol and even worse, lowers the good
cholesterol - almost tripling the risk of a coronary heart disease.

Don't
believe the TV ads and stay away from margarine. Dr. Allan Spreen calls
margarine, "plastic butter." And he has a point. Why? Because being
hydrogenated, margarine is in fact one molecule away from actually being
plastic - no kidding! To put it mildly, you're actually about one
molecule away from eating Tupperware. You're more than welcome to carry
out a simple test to prove this. All you have to do is leave a container
of butter and a container of margarine out for a while and watch. It
will only be a matter of time when you see flies hovering your container
of butter - avoiding the margarine altogether. If it's not good enough
for flies, you know you're in trouble!

Lower your intake of "bad" fat

Lowering
cholesterol without drugs begins with this very important step - simply
limit your consumption of saturated fat. Saturated fat is said to
stimulate your liver to produce LDLs - or bad cholesterol that would
simply clog up your arteries. According to Dr William Castelli,
co-author of Good Fat, Bad Fat, he recommended that a smart
diet to help lower cholesterol would take into consideration the amount
of "bad" fat consumed per day - ideally being 20 grams a day. And that's
just for those who are healthy.

A good idea would be to simply
check your food labels when grocery shopping to get a sense of how much
fat grams will be going into your body at any given day. Make this a
habit because a simple precautionary measure like this can mean a lot to
your long-term health.

Also, take note of trans-fatty acids. The
name probably already gives it away - it is another bad fat. Trans-fatty
acids are chemically processed and will not only raise your total
cholesterol levels but can also lower your HDLs. These acids are usually
found in deep-fried fast foods, biscuits, shortenings and packaged
pastries. They're not usually indicated on food labels so be extra
prudent about your food choices.

Get a blood test

You
will want to get a blood test if you find yourself gaining weight,
losing hair, feeling depressed, feeling more tired than usual, more
sensitive to cold than usual and sudden stiffening of your joints. These
could be symptoms of an underactive thyroid - medically termed as
hypothyroidism. Diagnosing this condition with a blood test could nip
the problem in the bud and save you from a rising cholesterol level.

While
you're at it, ask your doctor to check your homocysteine level as well.
Recent studies are pointing towards homocysteine as a better predictor
of cardiovascular events. And there is a connection between
hypothyroidism, homocysteine and heart disease. If you have an
underactive thyroid, this prevents the absorption of B vitamins -
causing homocysteine levels to shoot up. The result is a 300 percent
risk of a heart attack.

A good homocysteine level is under 8.
Anything above that and your doctor should be able to prescribe you some
supplements. These supplements would usually center around vitamins B2,
B6, B12 and folate.

Can I have my eggs back?

Yes,
you definitely can. According to the British Nutrition Foundation's
Nutrition Bulletin, dietary cholesterol in eggs "has no clinically
significant impact" on heart disease. In fact, eggs are such a rich
source of nutrients that avoiding them could cause more damage than good
to your health.

I mentioned homocysteine. Well, according to a
study from Harvard Medical School, choline may be effective in managing
homocysteine. And where is choline found? You guessed it. Eggs. In fact
the best source of choline is egg yolks. But if you're someone with
elevated cholesterol or heart disease, you should check with your doctor
about the number of eggs you can consume per week. Such cases are
usually limited to two eggs per week.

Stop smoking and get moving!

Those
are two obvious actions to take to keep your body in good working
order. If you're overweight, you can be sure that your HDL readings will
be low. Shed the weight and watch your HDLs rise. It's quite difficult
to raise HDLs by dieting alone. You will need the combination of regular
exercising and watching what you eat. Exercising helps in lowering your
triglycerides (a blood fat linked to heart disease) as well. If you are
serious about lowering your cholesterol levels, pay attention to
triglycerides. Because apart from clogging up your coronary arteries,
high triglycerides can lead to kidney disease and pancreatitis.

There
is not much to be said about smoking that has not been said already.
It's just bad. Smoking depresses HDLs considerably. It is a cause of
heart and blood-vessel disease and basically causes irreversible damage
to your overall health. There are no two ways about it. Smoking kills.

Here is a rough checklist to monitor your cholesterol levels and as always, consult with your doctor.

LDLs

Keep it less than 130mg./dl. Anything above 160mg./dl. is high.

HDLS

The higher the better. 35mg./dl. or less increases the risk of heart-disease.

Triglycerides

Keep it less than 150mg./dl. Anything above 200mg./dl. is high.

Total cholesterol

This is the combined measure of all blood cholesterols. Keep this less than 200mg./dl. Anything above 240mg./dl. is high.